Lin and Tariq are saved by Lins friend Abdullah. Who was waiting at Lins hut for him. The book then skips the next three months to the point when Lin is returning Tariq to his uncle Khaderbhai. When Lin starts talking to Khadrbhai about the boy and the month they spent together learning english, he starts to think about his daughter he left in Australia and how he taught her to read and write.
When Lin returns to the Slums he finds one of his friends he used to run around with when he was still playing turrorist. As they reminisce Lin realizes that as much as he thinks he misses that lifestyle he truly doesn’t. They finish their tea and go on their separate ways. Before Lin goes back to his hut he has a cigarette overlooking the ocean.while sitting he starts thinking of love and realizes he hasn’t been with a woman since he has been in India. He then dives into paragraphs of self scrutiny. He describes times when he could have
“there were opportunities with foreign girls … German, French and Italian girls often invited me back to their hotel rooms for a smoke, once I’d helped them to buy hash or grass. I knew that something more than smoking was usually intended”(372). He then toiled over this idea when Johnny Cigar joins him.
Johnny goes into the philosophical representation of the ocean and how all life came from the ocean. Roberts does a really good job of painting the scene of them sitting on this rock in the dark talking. This could also symbolize how Lin is realizing how involved the community. This being the first community since hes been on the lamb.
This book seems interesting as all hell dude, I wanna read it. Not gonna lie, though, I wish this post went a little more in-depth. I'd love to hear more about this ocean metaphor, it seems like a really interesting way of representing life and its most base and inglorious origins. Conversations in the dark are always super fun to write and read because it leaves the focus entirely on the dialogue. I think you really paint a picture of the plot of the story, I'm thoroughly intrigued, but talk to me more about the author's choices and their impact on the story. You've got solid analysis, but I want to hear more.
ReplyDeleteThe way you have captured the essence of this book really piqued my interest. I’m curious to know how exactly Lin dives into self-scrutiny; what does he specifically criticize himself for. And how does Lin’s return to the Slums affect him? The quote you included here is so great; the way the author seems to use Lin’s voice to thinly veil what was “usually intended” is striking to me for some reason. I also loved the idea that “all life came from the ocean”; it sort of resembles Greek mythology and deism to me. It’d be cool to get an example of just how deeply Johnny goes into the philosophical representation of the ocean so I could better wrap my head around it. What kind of person is Lin, also? I notice how you mention that he left his daughter in Australia, and how is his current lifestyle different from his old lifestyle which he realizes he doesn’t miss? I would like to get a sense of who the character of Lin is, and how he functions and thinks a little more. I want to believe Lin is shallow and the brooding type, but I feel I can’t make that conclusion without more exposition and detail on his life and his personality. Overall, great blog and awesome book choice; it is definitely something I'll have to check out.
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